Once and For All

Notes and Vials

After the date... had it been a date? What she and Malfoy had? First at the Greengrocery and then at the Tea shop? She was conflicted. She wanted it, but at the same time, she did not want it, because it would be trouble. Her and Malfoy would just be trouble...

She was a Gryffindor, He was a Slytherin;

She was a Muggleborn Witch, He was a Pureblood Wizard;

She was a member of Dumbledore's Army, He was a member of the Inquisitorial Squad.

And then the thought implanted itself on her, maybe it was just a plot. Draco warming up, becoming her friend. It was all lies just to get closer to her to gather information about the club, all on behalf of Umbridge.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she had almost missed the first half of Snape's class. Thankfully, she had studied the potion they were going to brew beforehand, so the loss of the theoretical explanation was not serious.

She moved to gather the ingredients and felt someone's hand brush against her back. She turned her head and almost dropped the bowl of porcupine quills.

"Careful there, Granger," Malfoy said, steading the container. "I do not fancy a trip to Pomfrey because they pierced my skin."

"Sorry..." She murmured rushing back to her workbench. She felt something heavy on the pocket of her robes. And found a little vial with a piece of parchment folded inside. Hermione took it away carefully, to see one more sketch of her, a cup of tea to her lips. Hope to be able to repeat this, scribbled on the back.

Hermione felt the blush that was absolutely covering her cheeks. She moved to the cauldron, hoping the heat would conceal it.

They spend the next few weeks doing that, passing notes inside a glass vial, his sketches, her doodles, messages, rants, doubts, study notes even. They scheduled dates and when to meet at the Tea Shop. She had become too dependent on it, of feeling the sudden weight of the vial being slipped inside her pocket. Either in classes or in the hallways.

She missed the notes on Winter Break, she had hoped for an owl from him, but she knew it would never come. Because if they were caught, if his father caught them, their notes... She was actually not sure of what would happen, to them, to him, to her...

And that terrified her, their relationship if they could call it a relationship, was doomed from the beginning. It was not like they could walk through Hogsmeade hand on hand, it was not like they could sit by the lake together. That could never happen, no matter how much they wanted it. Could it?

So, her first message as soon as school started was a breakup note. She was not even sure if there was anything to break up, but in her mind, in her heart there was. Even if it was a secret, if it was unofficial, it had been special for her. She loved their moments at The Magic Neep and Madam Puddifoot's... but that was it. She wanted more. Hermione did not want to be anyone's little secret.

Dear Draco, this cannot go on...

I enjoy our moments, all of them and I will always cherish your notes and sketches.

But I don't want to be your secret anymore.

I deserve more.

I know you cannot give it to me, so I will not ask.

Thank you.

Yours, Hermione G.

His message was much quicker than she expected. To be honest, she did not even expect a reply.

Understood.

One more time. Just one.

MPTS, usual time.

DM